The Hero's Journey
by liviamaxima
Summary: A redemption fic. Anakin Skywalker comes a little early to his fateful meeting with Palpatine, and learns more than he bargains for.  Can he save his wife, the galaxy, and his soul from the Darkness once and for all? WARNING: DEATHS PLANNED.
1. Prologue

Note: I do not own anything related to the Star Wars franchise. Everything belongs to George Lucas and all references to the EU are strictly the creations of their respective authors.

Prologue

Insert large scrolling letters over a starry background here: Anakin Skywalker, desparate to save his young wife Padmé Amidala has turned to the aid of Chancellor Palpatine, heretofore equally each the cause of the Clone War, the secret Sith Lord destroying all that is good in the galaxy, and the evil force clouding the judgement of the Jedi Council...

Asked to spy on Palpatine by the Jedi Order, denied the position of Master despite gaining a seat on the Council, and plagued by their many years mistrust of him and his methods, Skywalker has been weighing for a long time his loyalties to the Order-a dangerous path to the Dark Side of the Force that Skywalker does not fully appreciate nor deem worthy of consideration for the sakes of his child and wife.

Unfortunately for Skywalker, the scales tip when he walks into the Chancellor's office at a moment when he sees something he presumably was never meant to see: a battle between Mace Windu and Palpatine. Hidden during the fight, Skywalker hears Palpatine's true plans to use him as a weapon of the Dark Side to destroy the Republic, the Jedi, and the pregnant senator from Naboo.

As Windu dies, Anakin is enraged to see the true nature of his would-be master. He attacks ferociously-and loses. Palpatine escapes and from his pod executes Order 65: the Sacking of the Inner Rim. Holding the public for ransome, Palpatine renders the Jedi useless, divided between the Separatists on one uninformed front and the fate of millions on the other. Skywalker must get off Coruscant and get to Obi Wan Kenobi somehow...


	2. Utapau

I. Utapau

CLAAANG!!! In the midst of a huge heap of blood, carnage, and steel, Anakin Skywalker stood, victorious and, by all reckoning, exhausted. He let out a sigh of relief. For hours, he'd been trying to get at the monstrosity called General Greivous, but every time he came close the bastard would disappear, dashing into one of the cavernous corridors interconnecting the craters of Utapau. He had been surrounded by a small cadre of personal clones, genetically enhanced ones by the look of their massive bulk, and though they themselves weren't too much of a challenge to take down they were enough to be an annoyance when they kept trying to jump in between Anakin and Greivous. Each time Greivous barked an order at his clones, somehow another means of exit appeared and access to another sinkhole or another ring of civilization would appear and Greivous would jump in, blasting at Anakin wildly.

Anakin took a good look around, and glanced down at his now dead opponent. He reflected how the coward had been a general by title but not by always by actions. By the time Anakin had approached the planet in his fighter he already sensed the dull consciousnesses of many batallions of clones. They were being sent off in droves from the other side of the planet in big freighters. He could tell that Grievous's metallic presence was still on planet: he was very hastily gathering up who or whatever he had left to secure a perimeter. Even though Anakin had long since secretly modified Padme's old rusted Nubian to go much faster than legally allowed and armed her to the teeth, it wouldn't have been fast enough to subtract the amount of time Palpatine had to plot and scheme-or more importantly pass information on to Grievous. Palpatine would've wanted Kenobi alive: if Anakin turned up, he would be bait, and if not, The Negotiator would make an excellent trophy kill.

He wiped a little sweat from his brow with his sleeve. Kreth, at their last meeting Greivous had all but taunted Skywalker that Jedi were his specialty: he'd already amassed a gruesome collection of lightsabers to prove it and was damned near obsessed with it. Jedi scum, he always said, but he didn't seem to have a problem using four of their weapons in battle, fighting dirty. Typical. Almost reminiscent of Dooku, even. But Greivous made the fatal mistake of mentioning Palpatine.

Anakin remembered how it all ended so fast: he had severed most of the arms. He demanded to know what had been done with Kenobi, Grievous started to respond by pointing to one of those damned lightsabers, and next thing Anakin remembered was that he had used the Force to crush the cyborg's chest with his own armor, squeezing him out like toothpaste. He didn't care about the elaborate battle plan going on around him, he didn't care about the light or the dark side of the Force, he just wanted this, this THING out of the way before it was too late to get to Obi Wan and stop the wheels of the future from turning any further. He had to get to Kenobi. He HAD to.

Anakin glanced down at his shoulder-he had only now just noticed that his artificial arm was cut off. It wasn't too long ago that Padmé was teasing him while they were in bed that it was a little too lumpy for her and the baby to sleep on, and that maybe it was time he thought about getting a more improved one. Padmé...his angel. The one thing in his life that made sense and gave him comfort. . A chill ran up his spine. He remembered how he had floored it out of that office, screaming at a poor secretary to contact the Order- a Jedi Master was murdered. He prayed that the instructions and messages he gave Threepio at 500 Republica would be heeded...and Artoo's would be listened to without questions. He'd worked so hard to save her; it would all be worthless if he failed now.

Walking down a corridor strewn with droids' bodies, he commed Artoo to tell him to bring his ship around while he looked for Obi Wan; the little droid was still parked near the refueling cache on the Utupauan moon and was probably still patching up the damage from the mines they encountered near the Kessel run. In his search Anakin reached out with the Force to see if there were any other beings in the area-nothing. He let his mind race further. His heart began to pound. Chancellor Palpatine was the only one Anakin had told about whose wife Padmé Naberrie Amidala was and whose baby she carried. That much was painfully certain. He loved her so much it hurt, and if Sidious got a hold of her she wouldn't even be able to run away-she was at least six months gone by now! Anakin looked around. He'd focus on the Force trying to feel his baby's signature at least, just to be sure-

_"Padawan, don't you think the phrase "your thoughts betray you" is a bit redundant at this moment?!!"_


	3. Cat Got Your Tongue?

II. Cat Got Your Tongue?

Obi Wan was relieved to be free:he had been stuck twirling around inside a Force shielding device for ages. He had long sensed Anakin's presence and equally sensed a very loud crunching sensation coming from the loading dock some hours later: General Grievous had apparently lost the battle.

The control mechanism over his Force shield was crushed along with Grievous's ribcage and though he did not approve of the method used he did sense his former padawan was defending his honor, and he decided not to dwell on it: Anakin never was very good at controlling his impulses. Getting up, he felt Skywalker's next move was going to be to use the back tunnels to find him. Obi Wan first made his way to find where he last felt Grievous being alive-after all, the cyborg scum did take his saber from him. He needed it back if they were going to fight their way through to free all the Utupauans Grievous had captured, and no doubt if the Council had sent Anakin here then the nature of his mission had changed.

But to what? When he had last seen Anakin his duty was to spy on Palpatine. The man had gotten too powerful of late and was running out of excuses as to why he was still in the seat of power. Anakin and the Chancellor got on well, this was no secret; Obi Wan himself before the war had thought a man of great accomplishment and wisdom would be a good influence on his padawan, finally teaching him patience. It might not have been fair to Anakin to ask him to be a spy for the Order in hindsight, but it was useful to the Order nonetheless. Picking up his lightsaber, Obi Wan hooked it back onto his belt. He would have plenty of time for questions once he reached Anakin; for now using the panel on Greivous' belt would be more useful as it deactivated the remaining droids in this damned pit. Anakin would probably try to fight his way through the thick of it, but if the Council had different plans it would likely be better to be mindful of the new task set before them.

All that he endured up to this point would have been easier to take than what awaited him . He was within a few yards behind his former padawan when he first began to notice the thoughts Anakin was broadcasting very loudly:

_"Padmé_..._Palpatine will go after Padmé! "_

Kenobi groaned inwardly. He told Anakin time and again not to get attached to a woman and here he was worrying about her when there was work to get done. The Sith Lord was unmasked-why worry about civilian lives when they were so close to finishing it?

_"The Sith knows I love her. I told him everything about her. I can't live without her and now he knows what frightens me most. Frack, what am I going to do if he decides to go after her instead of me??!! I cannot fail... She can't even run if he tries to attack...My angel...He'll destroy her to get to me and I won't be able to save her...I cannot fail..."_

Kenobi stopped dead in his tracks. His worst fears had been realized: Anakin Skywalker was deeply attached to the beautiful senator from Naboo. Aside from the actual thoughts, powerful emotions were practically rolling off Skywalker like huge tsunami waves, knocking the wind out of Kenobi. This was more powerful than anything Kenobi had ever sensed in Anakin to date, and far worse, there was fear, a wild desparation to them-a trait of the Dark Side. Not again... As the waves bludgeoned him, Kenobi felt things in Anakin that went far beyond a sexual attraction. There was a much stronger bond he couldn't put his finger on...

_Palpatine may be trying to track me in the Force; he may be trying to feel if I am looking for her. WAIT!! The baby!!! If my baby's alive, then so is my wife..._

_"BABY?!! WIFE?!!! ANAKIN!!!!" _Obi Wan's thoughts screamed at him. This was too much. Obi Wan had seen Anakin bend and even break the Jedi Code on minor counts, but breaking the Code and betraying his trust was too much. Angrily he projected, "_Padawan, don't you think the phrase "your thoughts betray you" is a bit redundant at this moment?!!"_

Anakin wheeled around, eyes wide. The thing he had been hiding for so long was finally out in the open and there stood his former master. Anakin was a mix of horror, indignance, and shock. "Master, I don't know-"

_"What to say?" _Obi Wan retorted over their connection. _"How about how you knew how attachments are forbidden but deliberately, recklessly disobeyed?! How about how you betrayed my trust and have been lying to me for years? How about how you have been so arrogant as to think you were above the rules and now you are in such a damned mess that it could cost Padmé her life and that of her baby??! You are finally going to get thrown out for this, Anakin: don't think I am going to defend you this time to the Council!!" _

"Wait, please, just listen, there is more - "

Obi-Wan Kenobi stormed off towards Anakin's fighter. Artoo was lowering the hatch already in preparation for departure.

"..._I cannot believe you sometimes, Anakin!! Just when I think you are going to act your age you do something like this! She's a senator; you're a Jedi!! Anakin, you can't possibly think this won't endanger the Order's creditability; a Jedi's highest calling is to serve others, not himself, and to have compassion for all even it it means swallowing his own bitterness!! You know that!! You are the Chosen One, Anakin, and this is a war.."_

As Obi Wan continued his litany, Anakin's blue eyes began to burn. Here, at the age of twenty three, he was being lectured like a youngling by a man who didn't even have the courtesy to thank him for being rescued and it was all over _protocol_ over anything else. Stiffly, he followed Obi Wan into the ship, silent. He turned, sitting in the pilot's seat. The air crackled hotly around him. There was only the sound of the hatch closing to hear for a few minutes before Anakin began, and minutes more after he was certain Obi Wan was finished.

"Master, first of all, I am a grown man and I know fully damn well there is a war. I have been used by the Council like a damned battle axe at every damned opportunity they get because of it! I have been treated like a messiah since I was ten years old and every time I try to live up to it I can't. NOTHING is ever enough: I go in battle after battle and it never ends, not even a thanks! Nothing but criticism for almost fifteen years, and waiting for me to fulfill a prophecy. " Testily, Anakin strapped himself in.

"Frak, you honestly think the best advice you ever gave me was 'dreams pass in time'? When I told you my mother actually died you smugly lectured me about compassion for all people and about the Code and balance in the Force. I think I have finally found an answer to that lecture, Kenobi."

Anakin deftly turned and pressed one of his custom buttons on the console. Much faster than Obi Wan could react, the cruiser thrust powerfully into the air, practically a reverse jacknife that sent the nose of the ship into a ninety degree angle. Overtaken, Obi Wan Kenobi summersaulted through the air until he slammed into the back wall of the refresher, falling unconcious.

Artoo beeped in to Anakin, "So what was the response you meant, Master Anakin?"

Anakin responded, "Next time we see Threepio, ask him what 'Echuta' means."


	4. Revelations and Regrets

III Revelations and Regrets

Obi Wan awoke with a moan. He lifted his hand to the back of his head and found a large stinging welt poking out like a Coruscanti skyscraper and began to remember what had transpired between Anakin and himself: he still couldn't understand why Anakin had reacted the way he did when clearly Anakin was wrong; he had broken all the rules. He had acted all but like a Bantha in heat: go lumbering after the female now and be damned with the consequences. He was being selfish. In spite of every lesson he thought he had made clear, in spite of the years of trials and tribulations, it would seem to Obi Wan as Anakin hadn't learned anything at all.

It was not something Obi Wan like to think about: it meant that he had failed his former master. Train the boy, Qui-Gon said. And Obi Wan had thought, up to now, he did everything to keep that promise. He thought he'd taught Anakin well, but would never have dreamed his friend would go to such extremes to lie to him. He couldn't believe Anakin didn't trust him after all these years and then would fling accusations in his face. His mother died: he should have rejoiced that she is now one with the Force, but here he was, still hurt by it.

Senator Amidala was another matter. Her life was in danger and this would need to be reported to the Council in due course; hopefully Anakin's discovery of the Sith Lord would grant him a little clemency with at least Yoda. Some of the others he wasn't sure of, as at least three of them were away on assignment trying to gather information on the Separatists last he knew of.

Master Windu would be his main worry. He may not be so forgiving as the man quite bluntly never liked Anakin and (though Obi Wan had shielded his friend from the majority of it) he had always been a little jealous of his old padawan. Perhaps it was just as well that Obi Wan would omit discussing Anakin's indescretions with the senator at least until he could get Anakin to reason properly. Anything that the Council decided where Anakin and Padmé were concerned could have explosive, possibly even dangerous effects on Anakin, so he would have to tread lightly.

Many hours he stayed on in that 'fresher. It was probably wiser to stay in there given the black mood of his partner. Any person who approached would have thought the sight of a Jedi Master perched on top of a toilet while communing with the Force hilarious, but Obi Wan knew a quick meditation would clear his muddled thoughts. He let the Force guide him to several realizations and possibilities he never thought of before-could it be that there were deeper explanations for Anakin's behavior than he was ackowledging? Was the Darkness inside clouding up the Light or was the inverse true? Had he even thought of the right questions? When his mind was cleared, slowly he approached the cockpit.

Anakin was sitting in the co-captain's chair, but he didn't turn to acknowledge his friend. His mind was elsewhere. He was sadly watching a hologram of his wife unpacking a load of very tiny infant sized tunics: she had just managed that particular afternoon to get away for an hour or two with Dormé to pick them up from a shop downtown. Blue, all the little coats and hats and booties were blue-she was so convinced they were going to have a son.

Anakin leaned back in his chair. "What do you want, Obi Wan?"

"To ask a few things."

Anakin flicked off the hologram. "Yes?"

"I wanted to know, from the beginning, how this all started. I think you and I have a lot to say to each other that should have been explained long ago."

"Where do you exactly want me to start?"

"The truth. I want to hear everything."

Anakin sighed, and ran his fingers through his hair. "I knew attachments were forbidden. You were right about that. But the truth is I never did believe in it. I couldn't bring myself to that and I couldn't help but notice that most of the Jedi had never had somebody who ever loved them, not once, not ever. I'd had a mother-I couldn't and I still can't fathom a life without love. By the time I had even picked up my first saber deep down I knew I couldn't live like that even if I tried, but I didn't want to disappoint you: you told me that a Jedi's first responsibility was to be the guardian of all mankind, and attachment to any particular person was therefore forbidden...But I was still my mother's son all the same, no matter how much closer to becoming a knight I became. I missed my mother. I carried all that inside me for many years."

"Meanwhile, there was Padmé. I set eyes on her in Watto's junk shop and I admit I never looked back. I thought about her all the time growing up, and I knew one day I would see her again. Four years ago, I got my wish: to you, she was just another case, but to me she was as beautiful as I remembered her. More even. She was wearing this Japor snippet I gave her years ago and I thought we'd come together like drops of water. "

"I was wrong. While you were away going after the bounty hunter I was stuck in my own private hell on Naboo. By day we'd be laughing and enjoying the scenery of topside Naboo; it was beautiful. But by night it was a different story. All the reasons you listed were the same reasons she gave not to get involved. We tried to keep our distance. It was not to be."

"Geonosis came and went. By then we finally stopped fighting it: we were in love. Before I could get assigned elsewhere in the war we decided to get married: I didn't go back to Coruscant like I told you I would, Obi Wan. I was with her. It was one of the happiest times I can remember. For the first time in my life I had someone who didn't want to use me for my abilities and who could make me feel at peace at last. I would be damned if the Council was going to dictate to me how to live this time! I had my angel and that was all that mattered. Still matters."

"You know a large part of the rest: you and I were called away on assignments. Battle after battle, Obi Wan, and they _still_ doubted me. You kept telling me to be patient, and I tried as best as I could but even cutting off my damned braid to be knighted was a struggle.-Protocol seemed to be the only thing half the Council gave a damn about, so if you think _I _seem to ignore the fact there is a war on, you should've heard their thoughts: Agen Kolar definitely had some choice words for Yoda over the fact that I had no formal trials. Kreth, don't delude yourself into thinking I don't know where I stood with Windu: Sithspawn I think was the word he used. He didn't trust me because, especially since Geonosis, I had my shields up 24/7. "

Obi Wan remembered something and decided to interrupt. "And the Raider camp? I take it he knew about that as well?"

Anakin hesitated, completely caught off guard. "How..how the hell did you know about that?"

"The Raiders, though brutal they may be as a race, still have to trade raw materials with other beings in order to survive in the desert from time to time, Anakin; they don't do it very often but when they do it is always under the table. I planned a side trip to Mos Eisley about a year and a half ago if you'll remember to trade for better fighter parts; I had already been waiting for months for a shipment from manufacturers on Corellia to come through to the Temple and I was running out of patience."

"You told me you'd rather be sat on by a Hutt than go to Tatooine. When I landed I found a Jawa camp and they told me about a spot in the Jundland Wastes where the Sand People seemed to be making odd sacrifices. I followed. I found out more than I bargained for."

"And you said nothing to the Council?"

"I may have mentioned something in passing to Windu, but not all of it. "

Anakin paused-this was something he definitely hadn't counted on. "What did you say?"

"I asked him how he maintained control when he was deuling; how it seemed there was an instance where it was a problem for you in combat."

"And he assumed it had to do with Dooku?"

"At first. But to him it didn't make sense that you would be ashamed of something everybody knew about. He kept pushing for more information from me. I couldn't give it. I wanted to give you a chance to explain yourself when you were ready, Anakin. As disturbing as it was, I couldn't let on what I knew to anybody, not even you."

Anakin was heartened by this. "Thank you, old man."

Obi Wan paused, sitting back a little in thought. The Jawas mentioned the "evil monster" who went into the Sand People's camp tried to avenge a woman. He studied his old padawan's face. "Your mother was the reason you went to the camp?"

"Yes. Why is that important?"

"Nothing important now. Continue on where you last left off."

Anakin took a deep breath. "I tried to be as good a husband as I could even in my absences. It was hard to hide it all from you but I did it anyway. I wanted to be a Jedi Knight and a man at the same time; my krething ego didn't want to consider I could suffer for lying until it was too late, and I admit that I thought I was so much better than everyone that it could blindside me to truths about myself. Things got worse and worse on the battlefield and at home. And I got closer to the Chancellor."

"Then it was your spying that confirmed he was Sidious?"

"Yes."

"Did you at least have the sense to report this to Master Windu or was this too much?"

Anakin nearly forgot: Obi Wan must have been out of the loop for some time. "Master, Mace Windu is dead..."


	5. Goldenrod's Wild Ride

IV. Misadventure

"HEY, BOLT BRAIN, MOVE A LITTLE FASTER WHY DONTCHA?"

Threepio could hardly believe the behavior of some humans. His programming could not understand any of the past hour and a half, for that matter: here he was, strapped down onto a speed bike set on auto pilot, no control over the speed parameters, no way to bypass them, dodging through some of the lower levels of Coruscant, ignoring most rules of traffic, and his legs partially detached and flailing over the side. He was screaming, hearing odd bits of chaos going on above. His sensors indicated moderate blaster fire, but he was not able to do much looking skywards: Master Anakin seemed to have programmed the bike to dip each time he looked up or looked back. It nosedived every time he said the phrase "I want to go home!" and shimmied as if to remind Threepio that, sadly, it wasn't over yet.

When the Master came home Threepio thought he was ill and naturally asked him to lie down; his complexion was very pale, he was covered in sweat, and with a respiration rate that high he obviously shouldn't have been standing. Master Anakin did not heed his call and only disappeared into the bedroom, quickly returning with three holodiscs. How strange-the master usually didn't make discs when he was ill, normally he would have waited for Mistress Padmé to return and she would be the one to engage him in the human ritual of "babying": one pair bonded mate would call upon the other to wait on them hand and foot even if the level of sickness did not require it. Whether or not one pair bonded mate needed to be carrying an unborn baby Threepio did not know, it hardly seemed important with the Maker calling him a moron.

Nevertheless, Threepio was delighted to hear he was being given a mission, included at last in the adventures of his Maker. It was certainly not what the agenda given him this morning called for: The Coruscanti Zoological Society had a large ongoing exhibit on rarer species that Threepio was supposed to take Mistress Padmé to examine in about two hours as she was on the board of trustees and today they were expecting a new shipment from the Outer Rim of juveniles. He was hyperlinking himself to the holonet-picking up information for the day ahead-when the master charged out of the lift and demanded to know the whereabouts of his mistress.

Artoo was to go with Master Anakin and he was given orders to speak only to a being called Yoda once he reached his destination. Surely what he was given was extremely important: it was heavily encripted and well hidden. The Master even said the contents of the disc were vital to his mission and it would require travel.

Certainly, diving like a maniac was not what he had in mind. He couldn't even remember how he had gotten on the bike. What he knew for certain was that he came to right about the time the Maker seemed to be finishing typing in some sort of code in a side panel coming out of the handlebar. He _hated_ doing corkscrews through the air and being tossed around like a ragdoll. And speeders. He hated _speeders. _Beings with four and five arms were brutal and some even tried to grab him as he leap frogged over their vehicles with two arms and they pummeled him with the others. There appeared to be chaos in the main traffic lanes (everyone seemed to be trying to get home or get away from the blaster fire) and people were scattering in panic everywhere. Clones seemed to be pouring out on the upper levels, but as far as Threepio could tell, they were blurry screaming idiots who neither understood "gang way" nor were happy with the pronouncement, "It isn't me! I am not licensed or programmed to drive this thing!"

"AAAAAAAAH! HEEEELLLLLP!"

Somewhere around midlevel Coruscant in a shopping sector (he was going too fast to triangulate precisely where) Threepio noticed a Bothan eatery window-and then got up close and personal with it. The bike swooped down and banked a turn barely grazing the building next door as it shattered the glass. Threepio barely had time to gasp at the horror of it all: It was apparently not enough indignity that his Master had partially disassembled him but now he was heading out the back door of the restaurant and plowing throw a pile of garbage! Lettuce leaves stuck to his head like earrings and his once shiny left foot was wedged into a jug of blue milk. He tried wiggling it off, but that only seemed to make the programming in the bike angry-it accelerated and started bobbing up and down. " No, I am not trying to escape you stupid pile of bolts! Where would I go?!"

Shifting into third gear, it climbed higher and higher as if posessed, aiming for some unknowable target and dashing for it.

"Master Anakin, what have I ever done to des-OH NO!! KRAYT DRAGON! KRAYYYT DRAGOOONN!"

The route the Maker chose apparently did want Threepio to keep his old appointment. Through an oculus in the ceiling, the bike wildly dove. Directly below the oculus was an adolescent krayt in a large circular pit, its eyes glinting with menacing promise. It was the obviously the center attraction, surrounded in a fortress of security measures ensuring it had no means of climbing out to snap up the tasty morsels around it. As nasty as it was subdued, it was certainly ever more foul tempered with a terrified droid on a wayward speed bike invading its territory. Rearing up, it opened its terrible jaws to reveal large rows of pointy teeth, snapping and howling at this golden insect that very well could be edible.

"Oh, God, I think I am going to be SIIICK!!"

The people below already were caught up in some sort of melee as far as could be seen and screamed at the possibility of a dangerous life form escaping and going on a stampede. Bolt blasts here were ever more intense, and before Threepio had much chance to contemplate the commotion he disapperead through a side archway, unaware that a blast shorted the security panel. He dared a look behind him dipping the bike on a side swerve: a large reptilian tail cracked like a whip out the door and droids and civilians alike were panicking.

Upon crashing through some poor being's place of business (both walls) he thought it could get no worse.

Wrong again. Cruising through some lower levels is nasty enough as is. Almost becoming scrap metal at the whim of a large venomous beast is even tolerable so long as one survives. But when the nose of the speed bike tips forward to climb near straight up is worst of all, and when your circuits indicate you are about to crash land through a window of the Jedi Temple, you miss your mistress most of all.

"Oh Artoo, I cannot believe you once described this to me as thrilling..."


	6. The Beast At Bay

V. The Beast at Bay

Deep in space, the Lord of the Sith lay encapsulated in his specialized little lair. It was perfectly designed. The pod was small enough to blast off planet at great speed, and specialized enough to leech onto whatever freighter ship was foolish enough to cross its path. It could infect the main computers onboard to poison the ship's mind into thinking the coordinates it was running originally were incorrect and that at all costs it must head in a quite different direction. It could absorb all information on board (if relevant) and could be sly enough to trick the crew into not realizing their doom until too late.

Darth Sidious savored the delicious panic of the men on board. The fools never guessed a computer could be tricked into delivering its own exhaust into the main cabin. Frantically checking the manuals, the circuitry, the power cels, all the while making themselves more vulnerable and breathe it in more deeply. The chaos. The misplaced anger. The tears of a man dying as he crawled on his belly to the cockpit. The agonized thoughts of a young boy crying over his mother's dead corpse. It was sweeter than Alderaanian wine.

He had long since readied the clones and Grievous with his newest opus. It was nearly time to meet for the rendezvous. Once the gas had cleared, Sidious waited for the pod to cut a circular hole into the bottom of the ship for him to enter it. He rose up through it, and emerged from the mist like an incubus seeking a victim. His accomodations would be primitive, obviously: no luxury was to be had in this pathetic hovel of space and certainly his meals would have to be prepared via the pod's instructions by sheer necessity. Dirty, low class Corellian filth like this could never have appreciated the subtleties of vintage T'iil-t'ill sauce and nerf tenderloin or aged Mandalorian cheese.

Disposing of the bodies would be distasteful but necessary; once out of this sector it would be possible to dump them into the trash compactor and send them off into space along with all other deserving filth. It was certainly not his fault that they were in the way of his new ship, he needed to conceal himself for now as the braying citizens of the Republic still adored their wise and brave leader: a part still worthy of playing if good and generous Palpatine could plea for the lives of the citizenry. Oh yes, the public would serve his purpose well, and the Jedi would pay for it in agony.

He stepped over the body of the young boy towards the cockpit. It was not his normal custom to pilot anything mechanical (such a thing was meant for riff raff of far lower standing) but he had payed the Dantooinian lowlifes well: illegal ParasiteWare was included in the pod so simple dictation of his needs should be enough to make the computers think the Corellians were still at the controls.

The Sith glanced at the thruster controls, reminded of a young pilot who was now further from his reach. Grimly, he reflected that Skywalker would be another story. "_The boy was foolish enough to think he could defeat me; The Darkness within him runs deep and I shall will it to break him for his insolence! The ultimate weapon to destroy the Jedi shall be lured to me again; we shall meet again and he shall be my hammer to allow the Sith to reign forever . _

Sidious closed his eyes. Over an enormous divide, the boy's signature in the Force was screaming danger and chaos, seeking...Kenobi. _Ahh, your fear has led you to an object of your jealousy? Kenobi would have made an excellent pawn in destroying Amidala, but I foresee that even if you and Kenobi escape Grievous he could have other purposes. Yes...Forces are mobilizing with the simple white lie of greater freedom for the Hutts alone. A few clones to detonate hidden bombs to destroy the Senate. Senators off planet will have prices on their heads for every degenerate to enjoy. A few clones to mobilize technology against the masses with the push of a few choice hidden buttons. Simple poisonings of a planets water supplies should terrorize the masses and they will all but beg me to install my rule permanently in time. Yes, indeed, I foresee my plan coming to fruition: if Skywalker will not join me as a friend, he shall unwittingly do so as an enemy..."_

Palpatine grinned, cackling. His yellow eyes scorched bright. All he need do was set a course. The Separatists awaited him.


	7. Decisions

VI. Decisions

"...I strapped Threepio onto my speed bike. He is in pieces so hopefully people will mistake him as being in transit for repair and won't look for the holo. The bike is programmed to evade or ignore obstacles where needed, to select the mathematically shortest route to the Temple, and to prevent Threepio from chickening out. As for her, Artoo relayed the messages as soon as we left orbit-hopefully, she'll listen to me."

Obi Wan stood mesmerized at the story he'd been told: Palpatine was the Sith they were looking for. H had been grooming Anakin to be his apprentice since boyhood and had intended to use him to destroy the Jedi, Mace Windu had been slain. Anakin had battled Palpatine,the Separatists were a sham and the Senator from Naboo was somewhere at large in the universe fleeing Coruscant. It was no wonder Anakin looked emotionally and physically drained.

"Are you certain that nobody can crack the encryption?"

"Absolutely. Threepio's holo is designed to only play for one person alone and if the average droid or even Palpatine tried they would never get it to function. Artoo's were broadcasted through minor military compunets to my home, her office, and to all applicable transports; the second half of the instructions are still being uploaded and the first message can't be cracked unless a being realizes that he needs to contact the other two metasystems to complete the data and extract the message in its entirety: most military grade computers are meant to focus on a single source."

"Do you think she has left the premises yet? Are you certain?"

"I hope so. She should remember how to get the whole message out at least."

Obi Wan paused for a moment. It was obviously unwise to try and contact the Temple or return to Coruscant. Grievous was mobilizing the army to take control of the Inner Rim; even without his command there were equally enough clones in other areas at this point to put other large parts of the Republic on lockdown. Other Jedi would by now have been taken by surprise and slaughtered; that went double for the Senate. The Separatists would have no need to keep up their ruse anymore and knowing Palpatine they would be making a grand entrance somewhere in the galaxy, in full force. The Jedi on assignment would blindly follow the Separatist ships to their doom.

For a moment, Obi Wan stared off through the window of the cockpit before beginning again. "Anakin, we have enormous obstacles to overcome. Though your intentions do you credit, can you not see your lack of control may make you vulnerable again?"

"I don't understand."

Obi Wan sighed. This was not going to be easy. "You should have told me the truth a long time ago, Anakin. I forgive you for not doing so; I understand why you didn't. I wasn't wise enough to guide you, perhaps if another master-"

"Perhaps nothing! Obi Wan, can't you see I hate it when you second guess yourself?! You never once learned to let go of a decision you made and it constantly confused me."

"Something we have in common, I guess. But Anakin, I never pushed aside everything to get what I wanted-and look what happened."

Anakin cringed. Grudgingly he knew Obi Wan was right.

"Palpatine now knows you'll do anything to get her. That could be what Yoda meant by letting go of all you fear to lose, it works out if you put it in context: if Palpatine knows you are afraid of losing her, he'll capitalize on that weakness any way he can-he knows your heart craves love and acceptance, so he'll try to make the threat of that disappearing seem real. If your heart is immune to that threat, he'll have no way of getting in and poisoning your mind."

"But Master, why would Yoda make me think that I would have nowhere else to run to? Why would he tell me to rejoice in her return to the Force?!! I can't be without her. I can't!"

"Anakin," Obi Wan pleaded, " Master Yoda is wise, but not all-knowing. He may be almost a millenium old, but I don't think he ever spent a moment of that in someone's arms. Attachments to him are like poison: deadly and to be avoided at all costs. He only knows of friendships, and may have thought you were talking about someone else."

Anakin lowered his head. "I am sorry for what I have done, brother. I know I cannot undo my folly, but I can promise you I cannot afford to fail should my path cross Palpatine's again. I don't know how I shall make it up to you, but I must. You have been better to me than I give you credit for."

Obi Wan looked at Anakin's dour expression. The boy had suffered greatly in such a short time. He remembered how Anakin was looking at that holo a few hours ago and knew in his heart that, sadly, Anakin may suffer more through this trial than any Jedi before him: there was much more for a man in love to lose. Oftentimes when working with the Republic's military it saddened him to see a soldier die and leave his family behind him from time to time. Whereas he did feel a great deal of sympathy for the bereaved family it never occured to him that the fact that a man's dying thoughts were often of his wife and children meant something important...and the fact that the military honoring his family for the man's service meant even more.

_"And would you have gone half mad as I have to try to save them, Obi Wan?" _Anakin asked, picking up on the man's thoughts.

"_I do not know, Padawan. I simply do not know."_

Anakin got up from his seat, and the two men looked at each other, wordless for a moment. "I do, however, suggest you try to get some rest. We have to find somewhere to pick up more rations and attend to your missing limb before we go anywhere. Meditate before you sleep-it may help. I, in turn, will try to figure out the locations of Council Members, Senators, and others so that we can come up with a plan to attack as I sense it is foolish to think we can take on whatever he's up to alone."

Anakin smiled. "But it would be a great way to ride out a war, huh?"

Obi Wan snorted. "Knowing you, that might be the way to have you ride out the war and me die of a heart attack."

"Again, a GREAT way to ride out the war!"


	8. Flight of the Angel, Part I

VII. Flight of the Angel pt. 1

In her office, Senator Amidala was going about business of state as usual: the Gungans were planning a new civic center on her home planet and it was interfering with human rights to old fishing grounds; according to the Gungans the area in question was historically not human inhabited and thus their claim is less worthy. The result of the whole mess was an even larger mess of paperwork sent to her this morning by the Queen and though the Gungans and the humans were both annoyed with one another it thankfully was not a return to the animosity of the past. The Queen assured her that she was handling most of the situation, but if a compromise site was to be reached Senate funding may be needed. Padmé rolled her eyes. She could tell that she may need the rest of the day to get through this, and reached for the holo to contact the trustees and cancel.

_"At least I don't have to do much standing today,"_ she thought to herself. Sitting in her chair, she pressed a button to turn on the holonet. Staring her in the face was an animation of a hopping peko-peko and a banner that shouted the legend: "An Urgent Message from Representative Jar Jar Binx." Padmé giggled. This was definitely from her husband, a joke between the two of them. The last time Jar Jar was trusted with sending her a message he accidentally let in a peko-peko during transmission and half the conversation was interrupted by Jar Jar desparately trying to catch the great flapping thing and ultimately he knocked out power in the capital when it defecated soundly on the office power couplings. She flicked some switches Ani built for her in sequence-this would activate the decryptor and tell the other two sources to upload.

Access granted. The peko-peko flew away to reveal a very agitated man. Her Ani's face was white as parchment and his blue eyes wild with worry, almost shell shocked. His voice hoarsely began the message.

_**Angel, I hope you get this not long after I send it. Listen to me, and listen carefully: **_

_**GET THE PAIR OF DORME'S CLOTHES YOU'VE GOT IN YOUR CLOSET AND GET OUT OF THE SENATE BUILDING RIGHT NOW. YOU ARE IN GRAVE DANGER; PALPATINE IS THE SITH AND HE IS THE ONE BEHIND MY DREAMS!! DO NOT TELL ANYONE WHERE YOU ARE GOING. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO GO HOME. DO NOT TRUST THE CLONES. GET OFF PLANET AS FAST AS POSSIBLE!**_

_**DO NOT GO TO THE TEMPLE. HE IS PLANNING TO DESTROY IT. GO TO DEX'S DINER AND ASK FOR DEXSTER JETTSTER, ASK HIM ABOUT THE SPECIAL HE KEEPS FOR ME. YOU WILL RECEIVE FURTHER INSTRUCTIONS THERE. REMEMBER TO KEEP A BLASTER ON YOU AT ALL TIMES, AND DO NOT LOOK BACK.**_

_**I CANNOT JOIN YOU. I HAVE TO GET TO OBI WAN. I LOVE YOU, ANGEL, AND AM BEGGING YOU NOT TO ASK TOO MANY QUESTIONS. YOU AND OUR BABY MEAN EVERYTHING TO ME AND IF PALPATINE GETS A HOLD OF YOU ALL IS LOST. I WILL COME FOR YOU AS SOON AS IT IS SAFE, BUT UNTIL THEN, RUN FOR IT!!**_

The holoscreen shorted out at the end of the message and-certainly it was designed as such so it couldn't fall into the wrong hands. A small scream choked silently in her throat. Shaken, Padmé rose to her feet and locked the door. Hands shaking slightly, she quickly donned a simple tunic and skirts; she and Dormé switched clothes still on occasions where the situation was unstable. Accordingly, to keep supiscion down, both she and Dormé tailored some of their attire to become more easily adjusted with side fastenings to accomodate Padmé's growing size. Reaching for her braids she nimbly undid them and cut the length of her hair in half with a pair of scissors: elaborate hairstyles and jeweled combs marked Naboo women well for centuries, but a simpler, shorter braid tied with string blended in with the crowd. She took her earrings out. She scrubbed the makeup from her face and retrieved a blaster hidden in the top drawer of her desk, hiding it in her sleeve.

The baby stirred vigorously inside her belly, as if it knew something was very wrong to jostle it out of its slumber. "Not yet, little one," she whispered. "Mama

may need your help to get out of here, but she has to take care of some bad men first. There is danger." The movement became fainter as if worried. Eyes searching, Padmé quickly assesed her options: " _Kreth, I cannot afford to be seen leaving."_

There were two holocams outside her office on the opposite wall and two guards posted at her door. The walls were soundproof. "_Force, if I were to have screamed nobody would have heard me!" _she thought, eyes wide. _"The Chancellor couldn't have planned it better if he needed it to happen-no witnesses, no-_" an idea came to her. Reaching into her desk, she took an old bottle of Corellian whiskey from her bottom drawer and rubbed off the dust. Bail Organa always said it might come to use someday even if Padmé didn't care for the stuff-it was time to test that theory. She set her blaster to stun, and took a deep breath.

"AAAAGGHH! RATS!! THERE ARE RATS!! HELLP!!"

Confused, the two clones guarding her door barged into the room guns blazing as Padmé carefully slipped behind them. Once one of them was positioned over her desk she fired. The first clone fell forward over the desk and the second one hit the floor. Carefully opening the whiskey bottle she placed it in the hand of the first guard and spilled a little over the desk. Perfect. Disorderly clones on a drunken reverie disrupted the Senator's work and nobody would know the difference. Now for the cameras. Peeking her eye out the door, she worriedlythought to herself, _Now how am I going to get the cameras away from me? Anakin is not here to make them-"_

An answer came to her in the form of what felt like little tiny wiggles from her insides. At the mention of Anakin's name, starting from one end of and ending at the last, each camera turned to the right towards the main glass entrance door, angling them well away from Padmé. She swelled with pride. "_YES! Daddy used that trick in front of you once, didn't he?! We'll be getting to him soon, honey, I promise; he'll be so proud to hear you can do that. Thank you so much!!" _ Excitedly, the baby wiggled from side to side: it was anticipating an adventure. As its mother braced the wall and stepped lightly onto the maroon carpet, it silenced.

Carefully, Padmé galumphed down the hallway to her emergency lift-it could go straight down to the parking lot and used to be, until now, perfect for getting away from unpleasant colleagues. She put the hood of her cloak up. She shot down the glass tube containing her, and when she reached the bottom, she looked around. She was too big to get behind the wheel of any of the speeders. Hailing a taxi, she paid the man upfront and simply said, "Dex's Diner. Back door.Now!"

"Ey lady, I don't go nowhere near that part of Coco Town."

"Dammit, I don't have time to-OUCH!" A little foot kicked its displeasure.

The Bothan in the driver's seat jerked suddenly, his head snapping up from a hunched position. He adjusted his rearview-his eyes were vacant and his face had a plastered on smile. His voice became flutey. "I will go wherever the Mama wants.I shall not remember the Mama's face or that I ever saw her once she asks to leave. I will go very very fast like the Daddy to Coco Town, and I will then go nap-nap."

He activated a switch, and the speeder jolted forward. Padmé couldn't help but notice the Bothan still had the same absent look, and she was a little more than concerned: a Force sensitive baby who could not see where he was driving was partially in control of the vehicle. She had heard of Force sensitves showing their gifts early, but nobody would ever believe her about this.


	9. Flight of the Angel, Part II

VIII. Flight of the Angel pt. 2

_"We have just received word that the Galactic Senate Building has been attacked, subject to a massive explosion sending it crashing down to the surface. No word yet on the fate of individual beings, but it is believed that Chancellor Palpatine was not on the scene when the bombs went off..." _

The taxi pulled into a back alley facing away from the main thoroughfare in Coco Town, and as prescribed, the Bothan flopped down like a ragdoll on the steering controls, out stone cold and sucking his left thumb. Hurling herself out of the cab as quickly as her belly would allow, Padmé now had no doubts that the news on the radio blaring from an apartment window above was only the beginning of Palpatine's plans. Clutching her hidden blaster over her middle she rapped on the door shouting Dex's name.

A voice came from inside the door. "Alright, alright, I'm comin', I'm comin'! What can I do for ya, missy?"

"Dex Jettster?"

"Yeah. What's it to ya?"

Padmé thought for a split second. "Ellé Pooja. I need to know if there ever was a man named Skywalker here who asked you to keep his special for him."

_"Traffic was tied up today in the midlevels in a twelve speeder pileup believed by bystanders to be caused by a large screaming metallic fiend on the back of an unregistered speedbike. The fiend seemed to be insane and screaming something about Human Cyborg Relations programming in seven known languages and swearing at someone invisible called the Maker in at least 15 different dialects of Huttese..." _

"I can't tell ya that. Even if there was a man by that name I wouldn't tell ya, but I would want to know why it is important!"

Unconciously, Padmé fingered her necklace in her other hand. It seemed to attract the Besalisk's interest. "What's that y'got there in your hand?"

"Nothing. But look, I still need to know about the-"

Jettster looked closer and caught another glimpse of the necklace: this time he was sure of it. Skywalker said if a brown eyed lady ever showed up wearing a carved piece of japor it was better not to argue with her and just show her the '"special." He remembered the instructions vividly Skywalker left for just a situation: it either meant trouble for the Jedi or it meant danger. Looking over towards the front of his diner he noted the smoke coming from the general direction of the Senate district. There was the faint sound of chaos in the background. "Sure thing, lady, follow me."

Lumbering along, Jettster lead the Senator where there was an old, unused shed with a rusty lock on it. Fiddling with a set of keys, Dex opened a door to reveal a long winding flight of stairs. "Lights on."

The way lit up and down the stairs both pregnant woman and gentlebeing went. "I noticed this thing a coupla years back and figured the old owner must've not wanted anything to be seen. What he was doing I ain't gonna say in front of a lady, but it sure weren't legal. When I told Skywalker what was down here, boy, he went off somewheres and came back with this big ugly brooch, real old, expensive like. Said it was payment. Looked like it were from Naboo."

Padmé grimaced. Whatever was down here, Anakin had payed for it with her great-grandmother's brooch, the one he said "disappeared" on Life Day. She made a mental note to kill him for this, because yes, that brooch WAS very old and WAS worth a lot of credits. Was being the operative word.

Further down the staircase, the Besalisk abruptly came to a stop. "You should stand next to me missy. We're about to drop."

Doing so, a transparent violet force field capsule enclosed them and the steps plunged down like an elevator down a shaft, about 30 feet in a second. "We ain't far now. This thing should take us down to the lower parts below Coco. Just watch yer step as we stop about...now."

Once they stopped, Padmé caught first glimpse of what Anakin had been hiding, and couldn't say she wasn't surprised...or more thankful. She waddled around to survey her prospects, her arm absent mindedly supporting the arch in her back. In front of her was a tricked out Y-T 1251 with _double _quad laser cannons, a violet trimmed R-3 astromech droid sleeping soundly in its perch, and what appeared to be compartments for blaster cannons. Her name was _Avenger Angel._

The baby kicked. Apparently another eager seal of approval.

"It's even better inside. Skywalker said he made big improvements to the hyperdrive, put in a lot of deflector shields, and stuff I don't even wanna know what the parts were for. C'mon in, I'll show ya." From his back pocket, he took out a remote and acitvated the hatch; scratching at the crack in his shorts with the other once the remote activated. Very gently he guided her up the gangplank until they reached the cockpit.

"How did he manage to get all this? Most of these modifications are _extremely_ illegal and that astromech certainly didn't get picked up at the local commerce sector."

The Besalisk avoided her eyes. "I may know a thing or two about where to come by that sorta stuff."

The interior was adapted for at least a pilot and co-pilot, she noted. "Anakin..where did he manage to find time for all this?"

"I dunno. I never figured it out, but I always did come back to the diner in the morning to find all my pickles eaten on Fridays-and the back door unlocked."

The world rumbled from far above. A cloud of dust shook down from the roof."Are there enough provisions to leave planet?"

"Should be."

"And you know the way out of this warehouse?"

"Uh-huh. Up."

"You've flown this thing before?"

" Umm, may have tested it a few times."

Padmé surveyed the Besalisk. It wouldn't be fair to just leave him here. "Then strap in. We should really get going."

"Was hopin' you'd say that. Been hearin' weird stuff for a few days anyways and I ain't been eager to stick around much longer." Reaching for the controls with one enormous arm, he activated the main thrusters and booted the computers. "Arthree Tenbee, this is Twenty Fingered Co-Captain of Avenger Angel requesting flight pattern Tango, Zulu, Rover, Alpha. Situation codex 3987. Captain in absentia, run program Gundar Nine."

Awakened from a long slumber, Arthree sprang quickly into action, beeping ecstaticly. A mission at last! An emergency she was programmed for!! Program: Gundar Nine. Actions required: Maker's lifemate aboard; fetal development approximately at 6 months, 2.5 weeks, 2 days and 13.09 hours. Detect health status of crew using heat, sound, electrical, and oxygen sensors. Female human respiration rate: slightly elevated. Male Besalisk: Normal. Sweating again, presence of Republic investigative soldiers negative.

Fetus: Active. Dual heart rates confirmed, elevated status. Equates to two primagravida life forms. Store implications of data for future reference. Mandate: Protect female and symbiotes from termination at all costs; ensure shields up and running within .2 seconds. Ensure all systems go. Status of galley: overfilled larder. Situation codex: 3987. Synopsis: enemy combat probability high. Evasive needs. Enemy combatants to be terminated upon command. Flight pattern: Leave planet at extreme speed. Prepare for hyperspace upon entering central thermosphere. Await further instructions thereafter. Seek low population density area. Duration until hyperspace: 20 minutes.

Like a bullet out of a gun, the _Avenger _soared through a tunnel and into the sunlight, crashing through the debris of a dirty disused construction site. Rising through the mesosphere, Padmé glanced at the message from Arthree on her screen:

_"Welcome to the Avenger, Mistress.I am Arthree Tenbee, Republic Military Grade Astromech, (Modified Heavily by Ani.)"_

Padmé allowed herself a slight smile. If only the same could be said of poor Threepio, wherever he might be by now...

_"The Maker programmed me to guard you and the fetal life you carry inside you. Have no apprehensions. My sensors can detect no tracking devices upon us and the status of our shielding devices are functional and at maximum performance. Presence of Twenty Fingers affirmative, and my programming indicates you are to be told he is trustworthy at this precise juncture." _

"Thanks Arthree. And thank your Maker."

_Negative, Twenty Fingers. Situation codex prohibits me from contacting him at this time but I am certain he would be pleased Padmé found her youngling shower present ahead of schedule."_

Dexter turned towards the captain's chair. "So, it's _**Pad**_mé and not Ellé? Thoughtcha looked familiar, Senator. Ani mighta mentioned something about this bein' a surprise for a pregnant pal come to think of it, but I never woulda guessed he got this fine ship for a fine ladyship like yourself. "

Rubbing her stomach, she couldn't help herself. "Actually Mr. Jettster, Anakin Skywalker and I have known each other for quite some time, and I can honestly say some of the greater gifts he has given me would shock you."


	10. Dreams Pass In Time

IX. Dreams Pass In Time.

_He was early. He was not supposed to meet Palpatine for another two hours but he managed to give the old blowhards at the Temple the slip. He hadn't told anyone at the Temple of his suspicions about the Chancellor. It was more important now to get away and find out once and for all how to save his wife from death...his child from death...the secret of Darth Plagueis the Wise. Perhaps if he arrived earlier he could learn even more about this secret and others._

_Parking his speedbike nearer to the back, he dismounted and wheeled around to the front entering through the main awning. Smiling a casual thanks at the woman at the kiosk, his senses in the Force picked up something terribly wrong: there was a fight going on far above him. Someone was attacking the Chancellor! Running to the nearest open lift he Force pushed everyone inside out of the way and cut into the control panel with his lightsaber. Ripping out two wires, he crossed them-immediately the lift accelerated and headed straight for the top. _

_As the door to the lift opened, Anakin threw his shields up to their maximum height, slipping past the clone guards and the secretary unnoticed. He opened the glass door. Beyond he heard the unmistakeable clashing of blades heavily engaged in combat. He crouched down. Aligned with the wall he ignited his saber but as he was about to go in, he halted-there was something about this particular battle that, according to the Force, deserved listening to. He tried to move forward, but was physically rooted to the spot. _

_There were scorch marks on the red walls, and upon closer inspection, blood. At least three Jedi were already dead-Anakin recognized the empty, dead stares of Kit Fisto and Agen Kolar. Saesee Tiin appeared to be sliced in half lengthwise. _

_"Master Jedi, you have no place here. The Force is strong with you, Windu, but it is worthless to attempt to destroy me!" the Stih parried his red blade as a violet one thrust upward._

_"You can do no more harm to anyone anymore, Sith. I will not allow your Darkness to harm another Being in this galaxy again. The Jedi shall prevail!"_

_Anakin watched. His experience and his fears screamed at him to jump in and stop this, but no matter how hard he tried the Force planted his feet to the spot. He extinguished his saber, and tried to move forward. It was not good enough. The Force wanted him to stay, whether he willed it or not. _

_Windu side jumped Sidious and brought his blade crashing down furiously first from the left, then right. Furiously they both twisted, turned, and jumped. Sidious's black cloak swirling behind him. Windu summersaulted over a desk and in a bold swoop disarmed his opponent._

_"The Jedi are a dying race! I am the law now and you, arrogant whelp, shall be the first in line to know its wrath!"_

_Summoning up great strength, Sidious raised his arms high in the air and from his fingertips flashed a brilliant display of Force lightning. Rapidly Windu responded: Using his blade he channeled all the dark energy in, like a battery, and prepared for a massive vaapaad lightning storm. There was a pause. The light of the room grew brighter. Sidious force grabbed his saber as the energy redirected back, snarling. As the two blades came crashing down, Anakin gasped slightly at Sidious's appearance: a visage made haggard by the concentration of pure hate, anger, and rage likely coursing through him for decades._

_"You have no apprentice, Sidious, nobody to do your dirty work; an end shall come to your madness. Surrender now and I shall let you live."_

_"Pathetic simpleton! I only allow those to live whom I deem worthy!"_

_And then it happened. Sidious's rage exploded and quickly he disarmed Windu, knocking him off his feet and disarming him. Before Windu could counter he was lifted four feet into the air. Palpatine shocked him with lightning in large, powerful bursts._

_"It is only a matter of time before I have you all. There shall be no need for balance to the Force when I have the Light made to kneel before the Dark. "_

_Sidious shocked Windu, making tears of pain crack the corners of his eyes his head and neck cracking back like a bullwhip. The Sith paused. His voice escaped from behind yellowed, crooked teeth, and it was low...and deadly._

_"Your Chosen One is very strong with the Force indeed-and easily influenced when his passions are aroused. I have been awaiting his submission to my will for fifteen years, and he shall make the ultimate weapon for my rule. Love," he sneered, "so useful when it can make a man murder his own wife..."_

_Weak from pain, Windu's eyes shot open at this realization. Slowly with the Force, Sidious raised him again, carefully close, to make sure Windu's eyes never left his. The yellow eyes burned with hungry malice._

_"Ohh, you were unaware? He has practically begged me to help him save his precious Amidala from death; that little bitch of his will finally be out of my way once I have him under my control. Oh yes, Darth Plagueis the Wise knew the secret, but he did not know not to tell his apprentice...this lightsaber I carry was his and unlike him I shall live forever; It shall be a great honor to pass it on to your young Knight...and destroy the Jedi with it!"_

_With a final burst, Sidious shocked him with lightning, pushing him hard enough to send him crashing through the window where he fell down, down, down into the depths of Coruscant._

_After his horror faded, Anakin's face contorted with anger. He'd been manipulated since childhood by this man. Since he was an innocent little boy. All this time telling him how wonderful he was; all this time pretending to be a friend. All this time building him up with one hand and destroying everything else he loved with the other. He stayed there, if only for a moment, taking it all in, watching Sidious dump the bodies of the Jedi out the window, lifting them with the the Force. Calmly he commed for the repair of the window, with only the hollowness in his eyes to betray him. "Young Skywalker shall make a most excellent apprentice indeed," his thoughts broadcasted, "once his wife and offspring are disposed of, I shall be invincible..."_

_Anakin got to his feet, slowly opening the door. As if on cue, Sidious changed his whole visage back to the genial one of a Chancellor. Only now, more than ever before in any meeting between the two men, Anakin noticed a slight flicker of a greedy leer in Palpatine's eyes. And he realized it had been there since the first day they met._


	11. Dreams Continued

X. Dreams Continued

_Channeling every bit of energy he had, Anakin pummeled the laughing Sith furiously, giving Palpatine everything he had."Yesss...spectacular...your rage is magnificent! Everything I hoped for shall soon be complete."_

_"We'll see if you last that long you bastard!"_

_Parrying, thrusting, Anakin fought wildly, his eyes boring into that of his opponent's. As soon as Anakin began to ask the Chancellor rapid fire questions about why Darth Plagueis the Wise was no longer alive despite knowing the secret of cheating death, Palpatine began to backpeddle. For a split second Anakin found himself wanting to believe him, but remembered the Jedi whose destiny was cut short-would Sidious dispatch him the same way once he had outlived a purpose, like he did Dooku and Maul? Would he split his wife in half like he did to Saesee Tiin, if Anakin refused to kill her?! Using the Force, Anakin squeezed Palpatine's larynx, and ignited his saber. "Enough lies, you son-of--a-bitch. In the name of the Republic, you are under arrest!" Anakin's blue eyes were hard and frigid as ice, and Palpatine knew that look well: Anakin Skywalker always had the same expression on his face when he was stalking prey, most recently Darth Tyrannus._

_Now they were toe-to-toe, striking and dancing around each other like lions in an arena. As Sidious's rage grew, Anakin caught glimpses of the Sith's true plans for him and for the galaxy: slaves being made of nonhumans. Environmental rape of entire systems at the profit of Sidious's coffers and at the peril of entire species, some already endangered. The suspension of free speech and free will. Jedi slaughtered-even children. Worst of all, his wife and baby dead at his hands- Force choked to death. Kreth, the Sith knew Anakin well enough to know this was the Dark Side power that Anakin was tempted by most when his temper shorted out, and it was frightening. _

_Anakin's mind was wildly grasping at his memories of his nightmare: his wife's call to save her echoed in his brain and wouldn't stop. He could hear the sound of his wife's screams and a baby crying growing louder and louder, his hate for this freak in front of him growing. He took the high ground on top of the desk, and with a rallying cry he shut his eyes and jumped with all his strength his blade flashing as he came down._

_But when his eyes reopened Sidious was gone, and he was alone, hurtling through an abyss. He landed with a thud, and as he rose, he noticed he was in a woodland clearing on a hill on some faraway planet. The stars twinkled above. His sense told him to walk forward-there was something important here. The shadows of the branches above passed over his large frame, but when he passed over the peak of the hill before him he saw a magnificent sight that took his breath away. Here before him in a stone circle were double plumes of green and blue fire, burning bright and seemingly twisting around each other in a helix. Their warmth was incredibly hot, warm enough to be all consuming but impossibly they harmed nothing around them, most especially the Jedi looking upon them. _

_The presence of these conflagrations did not seem to be some sort of magic as they appeared to be sentient, even against all logic to Anakin. As he circled the flames, they filled him with an indescribable wonder he hadn't felt since boyhood, and a joy that made his heart so full it felt fit to burst. Somehow, some way, this was all SO familiar, and at the same time, distant, as if he had known of the existence of this space and most especially this presence before but never stopped to look closer. He approached. He reached his hand forward-the fires seemed to beckon his touch. As he extended his arm, he noticed that here, he was whole; there was no prosthetic arm. He opened and closed his fingers. He could almost not believe it-even an old birthmark on his wrist was back._

_He reached in, and the sensation was heavenly. All old wounds, all doubts and all fears he ever had throughout his life flashed before him in a hair's breadth of a second, and melted away. The flames sparked and cracked, and as he looked above him they began to glow brighter than both suns of Tatooine combined, but it did not hurt Anakin to look at them. "Stand back," they both whispered, "there is much to be revealed." Walking back ten paces, he saw it. Inside the fire, he noticed two pairs of eyes looking back at him: one set brown, one set blue. "Padm_é_?" he found himself wondering, staring at the second pair's: they were nearly identical to his wife's. The brown eyes looked sideways to the other pair, then back at Anakin. They seemed very amused, and very alive, as if they were revelling in some untold knowledge. _

_But before the set of brown eyes in the blue fire could whisper again, their pupils contracted. Something was very, very wrong. The wind in the trees picked up, and Anakin's cape blew up behind him. The two sets of eyes disappeared, and as the sky above suddenly turned stormy and black., Anakin's ears began to ring. It grew louder and louder, until it was the deafening sound of children's screaming wails of pain, bringing Anakin to his knees and crying out himself in pain; his ears popping. The flames seemed to quiver in fear, for snakelike a cloud of red smoke encircled them, howling and cackling wickedly all around now...over the din his wife was still calling his name...his TERROR was mounting as the earth quaked beneath him and cracked open, shoving him on one side of a divide and the flames on another. His lightsaber was knocked from his hand and rolled down, down, down, into the pit, which Anakin noticed was teaming with bodies leering, clamboring for him and climobing up to reach him...one reached the top, and grabbed him by his arms, pinning him down. Another grabbed his feet...it was wearing a mask..._

"Anakin! Anakin, please, wake up!"

Anakin looked up, his whole body wet with fear. He coughed a little and rolled over barely in time to vomit profusely into the waste receptacle. He had sweat so much the whole cover of the cot was wet, soaked clear through his clothes. Above him was Obi Wan, looking deeply worried, his arms bracing his friends shoulders as if he had been shaking him. "Old friend, are you alright?"

"I wish I could be." Rolling over, he swung his legs over the bed. With the one hand he had, he massaged his temples. "How long have I been out?"

"A few hours, but you've been thrashing about for the last one. It was like you were posessed-are you sure all your dreams are like this?!"

"This one is a new one."

Curiously, Anakin noticed Obi Wan's talking to be a bit muffled. "Did you meditate before you slept like I asked?"

"Yes."

"Did you attempt to ignore thoughts of the future and concentrate about what is going on in this room only?"

"Yes, Obi Wan, I am not a youngling and I remember Yoda hitting me over the head with that gimer stick as much as he did this: always in motion, the future is."

Obi Wan reached for a pillowcase on the bed opposite Anakin, handing it to him to wipe his face off. "Do you still hear Padmé screaming?"

"Yes."

Obi Wan ran his fingers through his hair. "It is worse than I thought."

"What do you mean?"

"Anakin, I don't mean to cause you any pain, but I fear that these dreams are much more than they seem."

"How could that be?"

Obi Wan looked at his former apprentice. Now more than ever it was difficult to be a Jedi Master talking to a Knight. "We both know that dreams can be premonition, even prophecy, to a Jedi. However, Anakin, what isn't well known at the Temple is that these types of dreams can manifest a Jedi's worst demons within himself-temptation to the Dark Side when a Jedi has very few defenses. They are rare enough that I wouldn't be surprised if even Yoda doesn't know how to combat them."

Anakin nodded. "He even tells the younglings in the Bear Clan they mustn't contemplate what their dreams mean until they are older, and by then most of them are so focused on being paired up with a master that they forget all else."

"Yes, and most don't get a midichlorian count above a few thousand. When I listen to you speak, Anakin, sometimes you talk as if the Force were a living being."

" We've been through this. It is. Your point?"

"Anakin, whether you are the Chosen One or not, you have a very high midichlorian count-the highest known. As much as Sidious wants you for your abilities the Dark Side of the Force will want you even more; I think that the Masters may have overlooked that you may be more prone to its temptations and attacks in this respect. It has already started trying to eat away at you in the daytime and now it hunts you at night, ever more intense now than with your mother and with childbirth fears because it can see what you know, and where you are weak. It need only a man to plant them in your heart. When the Chancellor allowed you to pour out your feelings to him, it also allowed the Dark Side a clearer view of your ambitions, and handicaps. If the Force is indeed alive as you claim, then its Dark Side is more than just a deadly enemy to you-it is deadly to us all. Master Qui Gonn once mentioned to me a legend of an ancient Jedi having similar experiences in meditations, but I thought it was just that-a legend."

"How do you figure this?"

"I realized it meditating myself. Anakin, I was never terribly good at concentrating on the Living Force, the moment. While I was concentrating I thought that maybe the key to gaining a leg up was to ask you to concentrate on what was around you, to clear your head so that the dreams wouldn't get a hold of you."

"Yes, old man, but that would only work if the same nightmare repeated."

"Which means that the Force is attempting to reveal something to you that cannot be combatted by meditation alone. It has chosen you and you alone to bear this burden, and it means that, although the nature of the future is changing, Padm_é_'s future isn't. I'm sorry old friend. I wish there was a better answer."

Anakin was unsettled, but he remembered Sidious and the quaking ground: Padmé only started screaming whenever there was something to be afraid of in his dream-and it wasn't childbirth.

"What is it, Anakin?"

Sitting back, Anakin began to explain the details about his dream, as many as he could remember: how it began with his memories of the duel with Sidious, the double flames, and the eyes-especially the brown ones. Obi Wan scratched at his beard, amazed.

"I think that you may be right, Anakin, but that doesn't mean she is out of danger. The Dark Side without a doubt is stalking you both, from within and without. Palpatine shall stop at nothing until we are all dead or enslaved. He is the main avatar of the Dark Side and has been for decades: twisted pure evil in the flesh.It uses him as much as he uses it by now, and I fear that this dream means it wants to change tactics."

"It is going to try another way to destroy me?"

"From a certain point of view. Unfortunately, I have no idea what the double flames or the mask and smoke mean. It could be a whole host of things but whatever it is your destiny is likely entwined with theirs."

Anakin weakly crossed over to the other bed. Normally he would be lashing out at whomever passed by over this-his wife usually bore the brunt up beautifully. But there was nobody to rail at over a dream that made no sense, that was both beautiful and horrible, and that was almost certain to repeat. His head began to spin. The Force was telling him that his wife and child would not die in childbirth anymore...but they could die now with a more brutal ending..Darth Plagueis the Wise couldn't stop death..the Jedi holed themselves up in temples admonishing rejoicing in the death and loss of a loved one... and the expression in those eyes from his dream haunted him. They were so like how he remembered his mother's... it was almost too much to bear.

_"Anakin."_

_"What?"_

_"Take a shower, and then send the second half of your instructions to your wife. She ought to have left planet a while ago and if you feel for it you may sense she did not leave alone."_

"_Tell me something I don't know."_

Obi Wan had meant Jettster, but it dawned on him to ask. "_What was the baby's name to be?" _he sent through the Force.

Anakin looked over his shoulder. _" I already call her Leia ."_


End file.
